Auntie Em's Parmesan Chicken

Welcome to the second installment of Simple Saturdays. The embodiment of life in the Blue Collar household. We live in a crazy, fast faced world as it is and being a mother to two special needs boys, I know the meaning of busy. There is always some therapy or doctor appointment looming several times a week, not to mention that we home school in our home as well. Add in meals, laundry, cleaning, baths and somehow, there still doesn’t always seem to be enough time in the day to get it all done!

Saturdays are the perfect day to tone it down. There are no appointments, no errands to run, no church or family functions to attend to in our home. Saturdays are the day to eat leftovers, to sit on the floor and have tickle fights, there might be a load or two of laundry or some dishes in there but, it is for the most part, a simple quiet day.

So, as I have mentioned before, I use simple little tricks throughout the week to get it all done, such as throwing an extra brown rice packet in when I cook one night for another dinner, etc. Well, Saturdays are when that extra packet of rice will come in handy or those potatoes that I popped in the microwave the night before and threw in the fridge before bed.
Now, I have saved myself the extra time and have just to heat up the rice or potatoes and I have my side dish already ready! I can have mashed potatoes, double baked potatoes, etc. I can add a can of flavored soup to that rice as I heat it through, whatever comes to mind I can do and do it fast as it’s already been cooked through once.

So, my addition to this Saturday’s meal is my version of Parmesan chicken. We all know how to bread things and I’m going to be honest I HATE it! Just because a) it can get messy and b) it seems to take the longest time to do. Probably not really true but, it can feel like it, depending upon how you do your breading. My version cuts that time in less than half! It also helps that as I’ve mentioned before, we have food allergies and intolerances in my house. So, some steps are amended!

Auntie Em’s Parmesan Chicken:

Sorry for not having a GREAT picture as most of my favorite blogs do but, we were hungry!

Keep in mind that you can again add more of one thing or omit something entirely it is your preferance. Though you kind of have to keep the parmesan and Italian seasoning or it’s just no good!

1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breast*
¼  of Parmesan cheese, the kind you sprinkle on pizza
2 - 3 tbs of Italian Seasoning
1tbs of garlic powder
Salt & Pepper
Minced garlic
*you can buy bone in, skin on, chicken as it is usually cheaper but, it does take time trying to skin and remove the bone.

To save you the mess, simply add everything except the chicken to a quart or gallon bag, depending upon how much chicken you actually have. Seal the bag and give it a good mesh or shake.

If you want to get the chicken cooked a lot faster, you can place it between two pieces of saran wrap and pound flat. This makes the chicken so thin and cooks it a lot faster for you.
When the bag is mixed thoroughly well, drop your chicken into the bag and seal it. Move the chicken around through the bag and make sure that all the pieces get coated well.

That’s it! No eggs, crackers or anything else! Just drop them in a pan or broiler or even wrap them in foil with the minced garlic and into the oven to cook. However you want to make them, they’re ready to go. If you do cook in the pan, it goes without saying, cover it with a lid or if you don’t have a lid to the pan, you can simply use a sheet of foil to sit over the top of it. It helps to keep the heat in and cook the chicken all the way through a lot faster.

If you want, you can even dump a little of that mix left in the bag onto the chicken as it’s in the pan…..yes, my boys don’t like to waste a bit of anything!!
Serve with your rice or potatoes and you’re as good as gold!

Wondering about those potatoes? One of my kitchen staples, those bags of steamed veggies from the freezer section, cooked, cooled and then diced and thrown in with the potatoes. It’s one way to guarantee your family gets their veggies and doesn’t mind!

A healthy, CHEAP and FAST breakfast that costs less than a dollar per person.

Ok so this is nothing new to you really, what I am about to share. The problem is that nowadays convience food has become our mainstream form of nutrition. We're all doing so many things at once that sometimes those little extra minutes to stop and make something from scratch is a bit hard to do. So, that is the point of this post, to show you how simple, fast and easy a good meal can really be (And cheap!)

All that being said, there are always several things you can do during the week or another day to save some time. For example, when I am putting away the groceries, I remove the grapes from their stems and give them a quick rinse. Put them back in the bag and when the boys want some they can help themselves straightaway.

When I make some brown rice for dinner, I always make an extra package. So, that way I have one on hand and cut my next meal time in half. If I have a few and am thinking of it, I even throw a few sweet potatoes or regular ones, in the microwave. Put them in the fridge to cool and the next day or next meal I have ready potatoes for hash, to make homemade mashed potatoes or whatever else I fancy and it has saved me ages of prep time for the next meal. Little things like this seem silly but, can save you loads of time every time you're making a meal.

So, that being said, here's the meal we all know about but, think it will take too long to make or it's too hard. Took me less than 15 minutes tops to make a massive batch, to feed four. When I say feed four, I usually mean a giant helping too!

It literally cost something like $0.80 per person to make!

$1.58 package of Walmart frozen veggies in a bag that you can steam
$1.24 package of mushrooms, presliced or whole you choice
5 eggs, which comes to something like $0.20 a piece.
1/2 of a green pepper - free from a neighbor this summer. ( I chopped and froze them)
3 cloves of garlic, diced or minced - mere change and you can easily leave it out.


Total is something like $3.82!

That's it!! Seriously! You can leave out the peppers and/or mushrooms, even the garlic, if you've got none of those things and it is still just as good and you save a bit more money.

My trick to save a bit of time though, he night before bed, I threw the veggies in the microwave so that when I got up this morning I could cut/dice up the veggies without burning my hands.

Another thing I did, a little non healthy really is I used the pan I had cooked my oldest son's bacon in. To get that smokey flavor but, the trick is to not use a lot. Just enough to add a bit of flavor. So, in the pan with the garlic and green pepper. I let those cook for a just a minute longer alone to get their juices flowing.

I don't like to cook them til their soft all the time and in healthier foods, I've found over the years that the more texture and flavors you can add to your food, the amazing it is and less deprived you feel.

So, then you obviously chop your veggies up and toss them in next along with your mushrooms. In my house though allergies and food intolerances are an issue. To side step this, I simply add about a tsp or less of that bacon grease to another pan and then throw in the mushrooms. Don't be afraid to heap the pan full and if you don't want to add anything to the pan to give it flavor that's ok too. As mushrooms cook, they release their water and they still taste great! They also shrink so if it looks like too much mushrooms, it's probably right on the money. :)

Again, I don't like to overcook a mushroom. So be mindful of that, the whole point of a mushroom is to have a meaty bite. If cooked just right that is how they should feel in your mouth, like a juicy bit of meat.

When these have had a minute or so to cook, then throw in your eggs. If you're sticking to your healthy lifestyle you can simply do eggwhites only. For our house though, waste not, want not! :) Also, I have a son with weight issues and you have to come up with ingenious ways to add extra calories!

Make sure that you thoroughly cook your eggs though, running eggs are soo not appetizing! Just give them several tosses to break them up. Once cooked, if you have seperated your mushrooms, add them.

Here is my youngest's breakfast:

To which I got a "Wow, danks mom"! :)
Here is the adult version with mushroom:

Does that not look delicious?! Seriously less than 15 minutes, a very delicious, healthier, CHEAP breakfast that you can be proud to serve your family or to even treat yourself! Again, I know we all know how to do this but, the point was to show you how little time it takes to do it in. This was the main things many of my BFFs seemed to not be able to get past! How I have the money and time to make a decent meal NOT out of a box.

Now, I pass onto you a breakfast you all already know how to make but, some ideas on how cheap it can be and some silly little tricks to save you time whenever you're cooking. You may find more tips and tricks to get things done faster when you begin doing things this way.

Ok, time for me to enjoy my breakfast now! ;)